Events In The Life Of The Church
Monthly Meetings
- Personnel Committee: Thursday, April 3 – 9 AM (Library)
- Quarterly Board Meeting: Sunday, April 6 – 2 PM (Library)
- Spiritual Formation Committee: Wednesday, April 9 – 2 PM (Zoom)
- Pastoral Search Leaders’ Mini-Retreat: Saturday, April 12 – 9:45 AM (Grace Chapel)
- Palm Sunday Service: Sunday, April 13 – 10:30 AM (Sanctuary)
- Maundy/Holy Thursday: April 17 – 7:00 PM (Grace Chapel)
- Good Friday: April 18th, 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Sanctuary)
- Easter Sunday: April 20th – 10:30 AM (Sanctuary)
Time for Prayer
Time for Prayer: Every Wed., 11:00 am, check website for Zoom link.
Collaboration with Other Congregations
Great news! John Moore suggested forming a small group of leaders to reach out to similar congregations in the area. This collaboration will help us understand their challenges and explore potential partnerships.
Next Steps:
- We’ll keep you updated on additional ways to stay informed and share your thoughts on the different options.
- Together, we can find the best path forward.
Building Research Committees Created
We had a great turnout for our town hall meeting on February 16th. It wasn’t perfect, but we did manage to restrict our focus towards two research opportunities: exploring the partnership with Bushnell, and researching the real possibilities of a community land trust (CLT).
Peter Ruffier has offered to continue to take the lead on the Bushnell research group, and a diverse mix of congregants are being sought to sit on that committee. Lori Kievith has offered to lead the CLT research group, and we’re seeking volunteers to be on that research group.
One of the goals of these smaller groups is to restrict their focus on just the fact-finding missions at hand, and to increase communication and transparency.
The Bushnell research group will be editing that MOU. If it is agreed upon, it will be presented at a future town hall. the FCC board would vote on the MOU prior to it being signed.
Updated Security Measures
Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our congregation. To continuously improve the security of our church building, we’ll implement updates to our security presence and policies.
We understand that a place of worship should feel welcoming, and these changes are being made with that in mind. One important update is that the main doors will be closed and locked from outside entry at the start of each service. This will ensure a more controlled environment during service times. If you arrive after the doors are locked, please knock on the main sanctuary door, and a security team member will greet you to allow you entry.
You may also notice the security staff person around the grounds and building before, during, and after service helping mitigate and facilitate proper emergency responses to situations that may arise. Of course, we want everyone to feel welcome.
We’ll be sharing more details about the other security updates and our overall plan soon, but in the meantime, please know that these updates are designed to minimize risk and ensure a safe environment for everyone. If you have any immediate concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Keeper of the House, Trevor Eubanks at 360-562-0189.
Lenten Study with Dan Bryant
Join us Thursday evenings, 7 to 8:30 PM, in the church library for a course on “Paul the Pharisee: Faith and Politics in a Divided World“, with video from John Dominic Crossan and commentary by Dan.
Schedule:
- April 3rd – “Paul & Josephus: The Challenge of Nonviolent Resistance”
- April 10th – “Paul & Christ: The Mystery of Execution-and-Resurrection”
Text for the class (optional): Paul the Pharisee: A Vision Beyond the Violence of Civilization, by John Dominic Crossan. Available on Kindle or your favorite bookstore.
Pastor's Class on Disciples History Conclusion
Pastor Zane Ridings is offering a pastor’s class on Disciple’s history and baptism to the congregation in the month of Lent.
A pastor’s class is normally a class for young people to prepare them for baptism, but this pastor’s class is an inter-generational offering made available for new members of any age and for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of this church, Disciples as a whole, and the role of Baptism in Disciples congregations and for personal spirituality.
The class will be offered in the library after church on Sundays. The elders and deacon chairs (Sharon Warner and Jamie McCornack) will be helping to arrange snacks or a light lunch for each Sunday. The loose schedule of the course will be as follows:
- March 30th: This congregation’s history concluded with a tour of the church (Wear sturdy shoes!)
If you want to participate, please RSVP to Pastor Zane at zane@heartofeugene.org.
Helping Hearts
Some of the people in Eugene need warm clothing, heavy blankets, and something to eat.
Helping Hearts Needs Warm Blankets!
Here are some other immediate pressing needs:
- hoodies
- sweats
- sweatshirts
- gloves
- warm blankets
- men & women’s underwear
- sneakers
- men’s shoes
- warm clothes
- camping gear
We also need kitchen items:
- glasses
- silverware
- pots
- pans
Helping Hearts barrels are waiting for your gifts at the entrance to the sanctuary and in the office workroom.
Interfaith Food Hub
Please take a moment to imagine the men, women, and children living in extreme poverty in our area – especially the house-less. To them, we are one of the ways they depend on nutrition.
Interfaith Food Hub volunteers give out about 300 sack lunches every day.
There are two ways you can be involved:
1. Designate an offering to Interfaith Food Hub
2. Talk to Patty Osborne about helping to prepare the sack lunches at a three-hour morning session in our church basement.
In February, 55 volunteers helped make and distribute 8268 lunches. Thank you, volunteers!
Writing Postcards for Social & Earth Justice
Robin Cushman and Teffany Hefner invite everyone to come be a part of our postcard-writing group on the third Sunday of each month from 9:15–10:15 AM in the Church Library. Together, we’ll craft messages of inspiration and advocacy to our political leaders as we navigate the months and years ahead.
Robin and Teffany will provide topics focused on social and environmental justice, along with contact information for city, state, and federal officials.
A Generous Donation to the Winter Stockpile!
The Women’s Committee of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local #659 used money from their treasury and took up a collection to purchase the following items for the Winter Stockpile:
- 120 blankets
- 100 pairs of gloves
- 100 winter hats (very warm beanie types!)
While they were not able to purchase socks as they had planned, they will be sending a check to FCC so that we can purchase socks ourselves.
Thank you, Women’s Committee of IBEW Local #659!
12-Step Meeting In Our Building
We are delighted to announce that we will have a new tenant joining us Monday through Friday from 12-2(ish) in the Chapel.
The group is a long-standing and well-established Narcotics Anonymous meeting. They have been at their previous location for 30 years! However, they lost their place because the organization is repurposing its space from a meeting room to pastoral housing.
We have offered them a very affordable intro price of $50 per month to match what they are currently spending. They will be building their attendance up and formulating a new contribution structure to increase their giving for the use of the space.
“We were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.” -1 Thess. 2:8
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